Reviews
Guns & Liberty in GTA4 by chris23 on 2008-05-06 12:58:41
tags: grand theft auto 4, virtual worlds
I'm driving along in a 1963 Cadillac trying to hold the lumbering sway of its heavy chassis straight to the road as I rumble down the city street past the usual castaways and early risers. I can't feel it but the steam coming out of their mouths makes …
2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Michael Szul on 2008-04-22 09:36:59
tags: 2012, daniel pinchbeck, maya, quetzalcoatl
I was phenomenally impressed with Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head, so when 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl was published, I jumped on purchasing it as soon as I could.
It has taken me a while to complete the task of finishing up this book. I had started it …
Flobots: Fight with Tools Review by Michael Szul on 2008-04-07 08:34:23
tags: flobots, music, rap
So I'm driving down the road listening to your stereotypical alternative rock station when they decide to play a song called Handlebars from a group named the Flobots. The first ten seconds sounded ridiculous, yet catchy; then the song broke out into rap music and I was totally mesmerized …
Apocalypto DVD Review by Michael Szul on 2008-03-19 08:01:36
tags: 2012, apocalypto, maya, mayan civilization
With the 2012 meme hot on the minds of alternative archeologists, occultists, religious fanatics, and the rest of us crazy people, the Mayan civilization has started its steep upward climb back into the minds of modern civilizations. Mel Gibson - fresh off of his Passion of the Christ work, in which …
Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV by Michael Szul on 2008-03-06 08:00:20
tags: industrial, music, nin, nine inch nails, trent reznor
If you're a casual Nine Inch Nails listener, this digital download is probably not for you, unless you're also a fan of slightly ambient industrial noise. If you're a hardcore Nine Inch Nails fan - or a computer using musician - then this is definitely going to excite you …
James Curcio's Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning by Michael Szul on 2008-03-05 08:20:26
tags: fallen nation, james curcio, join my cult, mythos media
How can I put this lightly? Fallen Nation is like Neil Gaiman's American Gods on an ayahuasca trip, while rocking out to the noise of Mushroomhead, with the lyrical subtext of Steely Dan. To all those that thought Curcio's Join My Cult! was good, this is James Curcio …
The Golden Compass by Lucifer Benway on 2008-01-09 09:55:16
tags: golden compass
Phillip Pullman's screed against organized religion hits the screens in a family-friendly Christmas release. It is, of course, little surprise that the film's Gnostic message has been entirely purged from the film. However, the core attitudes about the oppressive nature of organized religion shine through. Did I mention …
I Am Legend by Lucifer Benway on 2008-01-09 09:40:15
tags: i am legend
You know the drill. Will Smith in the supposedly truest to the book version of the novel I Am Legend. Made in the 60s as a vehicle for Vincent Price to pine for his dead wife (Last Man on Earth) and in the 70s with Charlton Heston being camp as …
Roger Walsh MD, Ph.D.'s The World of Shamanism by Lucifer Benway on 2007-09-22 17:36:49
This is an interesting little book and noteworthy because of a total lack of instruction on practice. I should say straightaway that if you’re looking for a book to teach you something about how to actually do Shamanism, this isn’t the book for you. However, if you’re…
Peter H. Gilmore's The Satanic Scriptures by Lucifer Benway on 2007-09-22 17:36:48
This book was given to me by the fine people at Scapegoat Publishing because they know that I support their infernal campaign for world domination. After being part of a clandestine media operation to bring attention to Jack Malebranche’s seminal work Androphilia: A Manifesto my handlers contacted me with…
Raven Digitalis' Goth Craft by Lucifer Benway on 2007-09-22 17:36:47
I wanted to like this book. I really did. First of all, I was familiar with Messr. Digitalis’ online presence and thought he would have something really special to contribute to the ongoing community discussion re: old forms, new functions. However, I was increasingly disappointed with this book the more…
Donald Tyson's Necronomicon Tarot Kit by Lucifer Benway on 2007-09-22 17:36:46
When I requested a copy of this from Llewelyn I told them that it was going to be more of a plug than a review. After receiving this very well-made deck complete with a “bag of holding” that would make a 13 year old goth girl jealous and a book…
Christopher Penczak's Ascension Magick by Lucifer Benway on 2007-06-05 09:31:47
Ascension Magick, Christopher Penczak, Llewellyn, 550pp.
I hate HATE HATE Christopher Penczak! How the hell does this guy keep getting books published? This particular shit shingle is a bunch of New Age gobbledygook, new jack Theosophy that attempts to make some kind of grand unified field theory that appeals to…
Donald Tyson's Soul Flight by Lucifer Benway on 2007-06-05 09:30:19
Soul Flight, Donald Tyson, Llewellyn, 320pp
A pretty rudimentary tract on astral projection and remote viewing from the people who bring you rudimentary tracts on just about everything.
Tyson’s brilliance shines through the restrictions of Llewellyn’s submission format. The first 150 pages are so completely useless that I…
Scanner Darkly Runs Spotty by Lucifer Benway on 2006-07-20 17:08:19
For a part-time schizophrenic and Gnostic acid casualty, Philip K. Dick has a long history of Hollywood blockbusters. While a perpetual college favorite, his books rarely get adapted as heady, art-house style pictures. Rather, Hollywood has made his novels into cyberpunk noir (the almost universally revered Blade Runner), big-budget summer…
Return of the American YHVH by Lucifer Benway on 2006-07-06 18:15:56
Warning For Fanboys: Hella Spoilers Lie Ahead Superman Returns has been eagerly anticipated for almost thirty years. Ever since the debacle of Richard Donner leaving Superman II midway thru production after the film became separated from the original (which seems mercilessly hacked compared to the more complete version on DVD …
Foucault's Pendulum - Too Obscure To Piss Off The Pope. by James Curcio on 2006-06-28 16:23:27
tags: da vinci code, foucaults pendulum
Despite the glut of ridiculous controversy surrounding the rather mediocre Da Vinci Code – which to date includes the outrage of an 'Albino rights' group and the ruffled feathers of the 'mythical' Opus Dei - a great deal of the information at the heart of the story is based on fact. Given …
A Book of Cunning by Anton Channing on 2006-06-23 16:07:51
Unlike most books on witchcraft, Witcha: A Book of Cunning by Nathaniel J Harris is not written from a neo-pagan perspective, but rather discusses ‘operational witchcraft’ as its main focus. Which is to say it is concerned with actually getting results rather than religious worship of any kind.It is…
Get Back in the Box by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 16:06:44
tags: business, douglas rushkoff
Why, oh why? Why would an occult site even bother reviewing a book on business? Good question. The simple answer is that Douglas Rushkoff's Get Back in the Box is more than a “business book.” It's a powerful schematic that can be just as useful in every other …
Gathering the Magic by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 16:02:59
tags: group magic, nick farrell
In an era of chaos magick, and more focus on individual attainment, it would initially seem like a book on maintaining occult groups would be obsolete. In most cases, this would be true; but Nick Farrell's light-hearted approach to occult groups is a highly recommended, refreshing look at group …
Time Magic by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:59:07
tags: retroactive magic, taylor ellwood
When Peter Carroll brought chaos magick to the forefront with such works as Liber Null, Psychonaut, and Liber Kaos he touched on some fascinating subject matter in the occult, but left the experimentation up to the reader, much to the dismay of armchair theorists worldwide. But where Carroll leaves off …
Generation Hex by Klint Finley on 2006-06-23 15:48:10
If you’re looking for a book with a mind shattering new magical paradigm, this is not that book. It is also not a handbook for beginning magicians. This is the book you’re looking for if you’re a magician in need of fresh inspiration in a bleak and…
Join My Cult! by Chris Arkenberg on 2006-06-23 15:42:57
When confronted with disorder the brain will attempt to overlay some form or pattern to make sense of the chaos. The meticulous geometries often accompanying psychedelic hallucination are one example of this phenomena. The brain, it seems, is an organizing device that recoils at disorder and attempts to subdue it…
Pop Culture Magick by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:40:52
tags: pop culture magick, taylor ellwood
Taylor Ellwood's Pop Culture Magick can best be seen as a transitional book taking one from the world of fantasy to the real magick that exists behind every doorway and in every shadow of our world. Popular culture may not be popular among many of today's occultists (with …
Club Zero-G by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:39:06
tags: club zero-g, douglas rushkoff
Rushkoff is no stranger to taking non-fiction themes and wrapping them into a fictional story. Ecstasy Club is one fine example. However, some writers are quick to learn that the graphic novel format is a completely different monster than the traditional fictional form. Fortunately, Rushkoff takes it slow and easy …
The Psychic Vampire Codex by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:37:30
tags: michelle belanger, vampire codex, vampires
There are going to be a few occult types that will frown on this book, and might even regard its contents as fantasy fluff lacking the “real” occultism that other systems maintain. This, however, is nothing more than bias and disinterest on their part, and should be taken very lightly …
Turn Off Your Mind by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:35:39
tags: aleister crowley, anton lavey, charles manson, gary lachman, timothy leary
A narrative account of the mystic sixties usually isn't my idea of exciting bedside reading or a harrowing page turner. However, Gary Lachman's Turn Off Your Mind manages to surprise you in more ways than one.
First let me start with the negative… Lachman has a tendency of …
Breaking Open the Head by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:32:58
tags: daniel pinchbeck, psychedelics
Reading Daniel Pinchbeck's psychedelic biography is like traveling down the same path with him. You're taken down a mystical pathway of initiation and retribution detailed in such a way as to spur your own rite of passage.
When we first meet Pinchbeck in Breaking Open the Head, he …
Disinformation DVD by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:29:33
tags: disinformation, douglas rushkoff, grant morrison, joe coleman, kenneth anger, mark pesce, paul laffoley, richard metzger
Further proof that “They” are looking towards “Us” for the next generation of cultural hits and snazzy media fads, the Disinformation DVD is a collection of four episodes of the British counterculture, reality-bending, mockumentary hosted by Richard Metzger of The Disinformation Company. The DVD also includes six hours of the …
The Book of Lies by Michael Szul on 2006-06-23 15:11:29
tags: daniel pinchbeck, disinformation, grant morrison, mark pesce, paul laffoley, phil hine, richard metzger, terrence mckenna
Every once in a while, an occult book comes along that refuses to conform to the status quo of the era that it loudly takes birth in. It it often the case, that books such as these are the books that become the classic occult literature of future generations. Disinformation …